Bloemfontein - A Bloemfontein man was jailed for 21 years by the Free State High Court on Wednesday, for killing his pregnant girlfriend.
Quewin Coetzee, 31, was found guilty of murdering Celeste Fraser-Carson, 28, last February, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokeswoman Phaladi Shuping said.
He buried her body in a shallow grave near Naval Hill, in Bloemfontein.
“The body was in such a state of decomposition that the cause of death could not be established. The mother of the deceased could only identify her through her underwear and bra,” Shuping said.
Coetzee told the court he went to Naval Hill with Fraser-Carson for an outing. They got into an argument and he gave her coffee containing 24 sleeping tablets.
Fraser-Carson lost consciousness and would not wake up when Coetzee tried to rouse her.
“He got frightened and put her body in the boot of the car,” Shuping said.
He then stripped Fraser-Carson down to her underwear and buried her. Using her cellphone, he texted her mother that she was fine and with a friend, Shuping said.
Coetzee escaped police custody twice before his trial. On March 1 last year he escaped while being taken to show the police where he had left the body.
He was arrested days later in Graaff Reinet, in the Eastern Cape, and was taken to Grootvlei prison in Bloemfontein.
Later that month, Coetzee paid a lawyer R4000 to prepare paperwork which stated that he had been granted bail. He was allowed to leave on the assumption bail had been granted, Shuping said. - Sapa